They came, they saw, they complained. Love Thy Neighbour and On the Fringe II aren’t just Ch 8 dramas that people had the most grouses about. They also ranked tops in viewership so far this year. Hit a raw nerve by extolling the sensitivities about living next door to foreigners? By all means. Co-stars who engage in a passive-aggressive spat over a ‘rape’ scene? Why not? Who’s getting the last laugh now?

2. The Rui En – Joanne Peh Factor

Rui En hogged the screens with On the Fringe II, A Tale of 2 Cities and The In-Laws, while Joanne Peh kicked butt in C.L.I.F and A Tale of 2 Cities.

Sometimes it takes only a sneak peek into someone else’s world to make you realize a lot about your own.

That was my experience over the few days doing door-knocking with Beyond Social Services from 10th Oct 2011.

I’d previously volunteered at their now-defunct home in Woodlands, when they asked me to do this door-knocking I was happy to be able to help them.

The purpose of this door-knocking was literally to go from door to door in a low-income neighbourhood of temporary housing along Havelock Road to have the most visceral experience of talking directly to the occupants and finding out how many youths under the age of 19 years old were there in Block 29. I’d always felt helpless and not involved enough somehow doing charity appearances and performances, and this was my first chance to get down to the grassroots level, something I’d always wanted.

How do you turn 30 in style? By inviting your friends from out of town to join in the party.

The soiree in this case is Joys of Life, a Ch 8 mega-production to commemorate 30 years of local Chinese drama. Taiwanese multi-hyphenatos Xiao Gui (or, um, Alien Huang) and Cynthia Wang Xin Ru are in on the act. Set in the ’60s and ’70s, the story will allude to well-known entertainers of the day like Sakura Teng and comedy icons Wang Sha and Ye Feng. Joining the two foreign talents is a heavyweight local cast. Think of it as the TV version of Great, Great World, if you will. There’s Chew Chor Meng, Yvonne Lim, Zheng Geping, Chen Liping and Pan Lingling et al, plus whispers of a romance between Zhang Yaodong and Rui-en – onscreen lah. Now that’s what we call drama.

During its run on MediaCorp’s Channel 8 the past four weeks, much has been discussed about Love Thy Neighbour’s scripted dialogue and representation of locals and foreigners. Despite the wide discussion on the drama, the show has been attracting a steady stream of viewers, even surpassing the one-million viewership mark on Oct 13.

According to Paul Chan, vice-president of MediaCorp Channel 8 Branding & Promotions, viewership rating for Love Thy Neighbour has already surpassed the 900,000 mark — even before the series ends concludes on Monday. It joins the ranks of police drama series C.L.I.F, and A Tale of Two Cities starring Rui En and Joanne Peh, which are the other two dramas which have successfully attracted an average of more than 900,000 viewers during its run.

Thanks to a wide variety of drama genres this year, before the year concludes with two more shows — The Oath and A Song to Remember — 2011’s dramas on Channel 8 have attracted an average of 870,000 viewers to date, which shows an increase in viewership, as compared to 2010’s average of 859,000 viewers.

These dramas are also attracting online viewers on xinmsn’s Catch-Up TV. Popular youth drama On The Fringe, which, tackled delinquency issues and the rise of youth gangs, was most popular online attracting more than 1.3 million views during its run.